British GP2 driver Jolyon Palmer will start from 18th on the gird for tomorrow's Feature Race in Monaco after a solid performance during today's (Thursday) dramatic qualifying session.

Jolyon, son of former Formula One driver Jonathan who raced here in the 1980s, was running as high as 16th during the early part of the 30-minute stint before a red flag, caused by Stefano Coletti, halted his progress.

When qualifying restarted, heavy traffic became a major hindrance as all the cars took to the tight, twisty Monaco circuit. 

The 20-year-old continued to push, improving on his best time from the day's earlier practice, and running one-place behind his more experienced team-mate, Josef Kral, for much of the remainder of the session.

Despite a final charge, the Arden International driver was unable to improve on his best time of 1:23.496s to claim P19 for Friday's 42-lap Feature Race. However, post-qualifying penalties handed to three drivers saw Jolyon later promoted one grid place to 18th.

Sam Bird will start on pole with Davide Valsecchi in second and Alvaro Parente in third. A number of collisions caused multiple yellow flags and disruptions in the 30 minute session, and practice pace-setter Romain Grosjean finished at the bottom of the timesheets after running into the back of his team-mate Pal Varhaug.

Speaking afterwards Jolyon said: "The session was really crazy! I got about two laps in without traffic or yellow flags, so it was not too bad. I was getting quicker and quicker with more circuit experience but couldn't finish the laps. I think a points finish tomorrow is possible but it will all depend on strategy and also a bit of luck."

Race One at Monaco takes place at 10:15 (GMT+1) with full coverage on Jolyon's official website.

Monaco GP2 qualifying results:

1. S Bird, iSport, 1:21.876s
2. D Valsecchi, AirAsia, +0.417s
3. A Parente, Racing Engineering, +0.590s
4. S Coletti, Trident Racing, +0.668s
5. J Kral, Arden International, +0.804s
6. G Van Der Garde, Barwa Addax, (grid penalty)
7. M Chilton, Carlin, +0.883s
8. J Bianchi, Lotus ART, (grid penalty)
9. E Gutierrez, Lotus ART, +1.053s
18. J Palmer, Arden International, +1.715s